Oil-fired heaters



Sept. 19, 1967' D'TONGUE ETAL 3,342,174

OIL-FIRED HEATERS Filed Feb. 23, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 19, 1 967Q' ETAL 3,342,174

OIL-FIRED mmrms Filed Feb. 23, 1965 I 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Sept. 19, 1967 D.TONGUE ETAL OIL-FIRED HEATERS Filed Feb. 25, 1965 4 Sheets-Sheet 3United States Patent C 3,342,174 OIL-FIRED HEATERS Dennis Tongue, BrianJohn Bickley, and David Alexander Robertson, Warwickshire, England,assignors to The Valor Company Limited, Bromford, Erdington, Birmingham,England, a British company Filed Feb. 23, 1965, Ser. No. 434,422 Claimspriority, application Great Britain, Feb. 21, 1964, 7,260/64; Apr. 30,1964, 17,925/64; Oct. 24, 1964, 43,460/ 64; Jan. 30, 1965, 4,187/65 4Claims. (Cl. 126-96) The present invention consists in an oil-firedspace heater having a burner of the long drum type, that is to say inwhich the burner is mounted at the base of a draught inducing chimney,the burner being fed by a wick on which the flame burns almost directlyand in which is provided, for putting out the flame if the heater isknocked over, tilted or lifted from the floor or other surface on whichit is standing, a safety device comprising a flame extinguisher mountedinside the chimney, spring means for moving the flame extinguishertowards the burner with sufficient rapidity normally to blow out theflame and to bring the flame extinguisher into a final position in whichit covers the wick, latch means for holding the flame extinguisher in aninitial position clear of the wick against the action of the springmeans, and preloaded means for releasing the latch means but restrainedfrom so releasing it, while the heater is standing normally, by theengagement of a shoe with the floor.

The rapid movement of the flame extinguisher under the action of thespring means directs a puff of air towards the wick which is usuallysufficient to extinguish its flame but the covering of the wick in thefinal position of the flame extinguisher, by severely restricting themovement of the atmosphere surrounding the wick and so preventing airfor combustion reaching it, ensures that the flame goes out.

The flame extinguished may be in the form of an in verted cup. The topof a Wick burner normally projects slightly through an opening in a coneor other surrounding member at the bottom of the chimney and the rim oradjacent portion of the flame extinguisher cup, in the extinguishingposition, may engage a continuous marginal portion around the opening ofthe cone or other member. Alternatively it could engage a similarlycontinuous, wick-surrounding part of the burner itself. The cup shouldnot touch the wick itself but it may conform quite closely to thecontours of the top. of the burner. The cup may be allowed some freedomof movement in relation to its support to enable it to seat well on thecone or other portion it engages in the final position.

. The flame extinguisher may be pivotally mounted to one side of theburner, normally being held in a vertical initial position but, onrelease, swinging down to a horizontal final position in which it coversthe wick.

The latch means may be urged continuously towards the off condition bythe pre-loaded means (in the form of a spring for example) which isindirectly restrained from releasing the latch means by the obstructionof the latch means by a member connected to the shoe and unable to moveuntil the heater base is raised from the floor.

It is preferred however that the pre-loaded means is formed by aspring-loaded linkage connecting the shoe to the latch means and thatthe latch means tends to remain in the restraining condition until actedupon by the linkage.

The shoe may be formed by, or be fitted to, the lower end of a plungeror arm or it may be some other form of member suitable for floorengagement.

For lighting or other attention to the burner the chimney which may bedistinct from or be formed by the part of the heater casing above theburner is usually openable by making the chimney removable completely orby hinging it at one side so that it can be swung out of the way.

The flame extinguisher and latch means will usually be mounted on themovable chimney and it is desirable to avoid release of the extinguisherwhen the chimney is merely being opened.

This may be achieved by arranging that the pre-loaded means is formed bythe linkage connecting the shoe to the latch means, as previouslydescribed and by the use of a readily releasable connection in thelinkage between the shoe and latch means. The simplest form ofconnection comprises abutting members; a pusher actuated by the shoe anda follower on the latch mechanism. Where the pusher moves upwards toactuate the follower a reversing mechanism may be included between thepusher and shoe which must be urged downwards against the floor toperform its function.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of examplewith reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a front view of an oil-fired space heater including one formof safety device according to the present invention,

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view of the lower portion of the heater and ofthe safety device shown in F1- URE 1,

FIGURE 3 is a simplified plan view of the heater and safety device,

FIGURE 4 is a detail view of vice,

FIGURE 5 is a side view of another oil-fired space heater, partly brokenaway, including an alternative form of safety device,

FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view of the heater and safety device shown inFIGURE 5,

FIGURE 7 is a simplified fragmentary View of the heater and safetydevice of FIGURES 5 and 6,

FIGURE 8 is a modified form of the safety device shown in FIGURES 5 to 7provided in another form of heater,

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of yet another form of oil-fired spaceheater, shown opened, including a further form of safety device, and

FIGURE 10 is a fragmentary view partly in section part of the safety de--of part of the heater and safety device shown in FIG- URE 9.

Referring to FIGURES 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, the inventionis applied to an oil-fired space heater having a fuel tank 10 raisedfrom the floor or other surface by feet 9, a gallery 11 surrounding aburner 12 of the long drum type mounted on thef uel tank 10, and anupright tubular, draught-inducing chimney 13 surrounding the burner 12.Fuel is lifted from the fuel tank 10 to the burner 12 by a tubular wick14 on which the flame burns almost directly. A flame spreader 15 of theperforated inverted cup type is included in the burner 12. The chimney13 rests on the gallery 11 and can be lifted off bodily for lighting orother attention to the burner 12. At the lower end of the chimney 13there is a cone 16 with a central opening 17 through which slightlyproject the flame spreader 15 and the wick 14, when raised.

In accordance with the invention a safety device is provided for puttingout the burner flame if the heater is knocked over, tilted or liftedfrom the floor or other surface on which the heater stands. Forming partof the safety device is a flame extinguisher which is a circularpressing in the form of a shallow inverted cup 18 shaped to cover theopening 17 in the cone 16 and to conform closely to the contour of theprojecting flame spreader and wick 14 but without touching the wick. Thecup 18 has a radially outwardly directed rim 19 which in anextinguishing position of the cup 18 is arranged to seat on a flatcontinuous marginal portion of the cone 16 surrounding the wick 14, asshown in FIGURE 2. The cup 18 is connected at its centre to one end of aflat sheet-metal, radial arm 21, connection being such that the cup isallowed some freedom of movement in relation to the arm 21 to enable therim 19 to seat closely against the marginal portion 20 of the cone 16when the cup is in its extinguishing position. At its other end the arm21 is rigidly secured to a rod 22 extending horizontally normal to thearm and journalled for rotation about its axis chordally in the chimney13, as shown in FIG- URE 3, above the cone 16. At one end the rod 22,outside the ohimney 13, is bent back in hook shape through two rightangles to form a latch engaging pin 23 parallel to and below the mainportion of the rod 22. Mounted on the rod 22 close to its hooked end isa link member 29 which extends between and is rigidly secured to themain portion of the rod and the pin 23, the arrangement being such thatthe hooked end of the rod and link member 29 together define a closedloop. The opposite end of the rod is cranked at right angles to form areset lever 30.

A latch member 24 is pivoted to the outside of the chimney 13 at the endof a diameter of the chimney parallel to the rod 22. It extendshorizontally and its other end passes through the loop defined by thehooked end of the rod and the link member 29. On its lower edge thelatch member 24 has a downwardly directed nose 25 at the root of which,on the side of the nose nearest the pivotal connection of the latchmember to the chimney, is a notch 26. This notch 26 is arranged so thatit can be engaged by the latch engaging pin 23.

The cup 18 can be swung, about the axis of the rod 22, between aninitial upright position, shown in full lines in FIGURE 2, clear of theburner and wick and a horizontal final position, as indicated by brokenlines in FIGURE 2 and also shown in FIGURE 3. The cup 18 is urged to thehorizontal final position by a tension spring 27 anchored at one end toan extension 28 of the link member 29 above the rod and at the other endto the latch member 24 adjacent to its pivotal connection to the chimneyand which is thereby urged clockwise, as viewed in FIGURE 2. The cup 18can be swung from the horizontal final position, against the action ofthe tension spring 27 by manually moving the reset lever 30 angularly toturn the rod about its axis. In the horizontal final position of the cup18 the cranked end of the rod is disposed as shown in FIGURE 4 with thelatch engaging pin 23 behind the nose 25 away from the notch 26. As thecup is swung upwards on rotation of the rod the pin 23 travels under thenose 25. When the pin 23 reaches the notch 26 the latch member is movedclockwise by the spring 27 about its pivotal connection to the chimneyso that the notch 26 closes over the pin and thereby holds the cup inthe vertical position against the action of the tension spring 27.

A vertical plunger 31 slidably mounted in a guide tube 32 extendingthrough the fuel tank 10 forms a latch releasing member. The lower endof the plunger 31 is connected to one end of a lever 33 pivotedcentrally to a bracket 34 secured to the underside of the fuel tank 10.The other end of the lever 33 is shaped to form a floorengaging shoe 35.At the top of the plunger 31 there is a disc-shaped head 36 againstwhich bears one end of a helical compression spring 37 fitted around therod above the fuel tank and bearing at its other end on the uppersurface of the fuel tank so as to urge the plunger upwards. Although thecompression spring 37 urges the plunger 31 upwards, so long as theheater is standing normally on the floor the shoe stops the plunger frommoving upwards. The head 36 of the plunger lies immediately below adownward abutment 38 of the latch member 24. If the heater is knockedover, tilted or lifted,

the shoe 35 allows the compression spring 37 to raise the plunger andlift the notch 26 of the latch member off the pin 23. The tension spring27 then swings the cup down rapidly to the horizontal extinguishingposition. The rapidity with which the cup is swung down is normallysufficient to blow out the flame but even if it is not blown outcompletely, since the cup is shaped to conform closely to the contoursof the flame spreader 15 and wick and the rim 19 of the cup engagesclosely with the marginal portion 29 of the cone, the flame very soondies out because of the lack of air to maintain it.

The chimney 13 can be lifted off the fuel tank without disturbing theengagement of the latch member with the pin 23.

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 5, 6 and 7 of the accompanyingdrawings an oil-fired space heater having a burner of the long-drum typeis again provided, being of similar construction to that described inthe previous embodiment, but in this instance the heater is fittedinside a rectangular casing 39. The parts of the heater are identifiedby the same reference numerals as used in the previous embodiment.Access can be gained to the heater through the rear of the casing 39.

A safety device for putting out the burner flame if the heatingappliance is knocked over, tilted or lifted from the floor on which theappliance stands is mounted partly on the chimney 13 and partly on thecasing 39. A flame extinguisher in the form of an inverted s'hallow cup40 with an outwardly directed rim 41 is attached, in a manner enablingsome freedom of movement as before, to the free end of a flatsheet-metal arm 42. The other end of the arm 42 is secured to a rod 43journalled for rotation in bearing holes 44 in the chimney 13 about anaxis which is a chord to the cross-section of the chimney and close toone side of the chimney, as shown in FIGURE 7. One end of the rod 43,outside the chimney 13, is connected to a torsion spring 45 anchored bya pin 46 to the chimney, which spring 45 urges the rod to rotate aboutits axis in the direction to bring the cup 40 down over the top of theburner. The other end of the rod has a radial arm 47 by means of whichthe rod can be turned by hand.

A latch member 48 is pivoted at an intermediate point in its lengthabout a horizontal pivot pin 49 above and parallel to the rod 43, but onthe outside of the chimney, and carried by brackets 50 fitted to thechimney. The latch member 48 lies radially with respect to the chimneyand its inner end projects through a vertical slot 51 in the chimneywall and is formed near its inner end with an upwardly directed notch 52inwards of which the upper edge of the latch member curves downwards toform a curved nose 53. There is an aperture 54 in the arm 42 whichpasses over the nose 53 when the arm 42 is swung upwards. Across theaperture 54 is secured a short rod 55 on which a tubular roller follower56 is freely rotatable. As the arm 42 is swung upwards over the nose 53the follower 56 engages the nose and depresses the inner end of thelatch member against the action of a tension spring 57 anchored to thelatch member outwardly of the pivot pin 49 and to the chimney below thelatch member. The inner end of the latch member continues to bedepressed until the follower 56 passes beyond the highest point of thenose 53 and the tension spring 57 causes the inner end of the latchmember to be raised again so that the follower 56 is engaged in thenotch 52. The catch so formed holds the cup 40 set against the action ofthe spring 57 in the initial upright position clear of the burner wick14 and flame spreader 15.

The latch member 48 extends in the other direction from the pivot pin 49radially outwards over the periph cry of the fuel tank 10 and, when theheater is in position in the casing 39, its outer end is immediatelyabove a disc-shaped head 58 on the upper end of an upright plunger 59slidably mounted in the casing 39 and urged upwards by a compressionspring 60 which bears at its upper end against a collar 61 anchored tothe plunger 59 and at its lower end against a base panel 62 of thecasing 39. At its lower end the plunger 59 projects through an aperture63 in the base panel 62. The casing is raised from the floor on feet 64.Below the base panel 62 is pivotally mounted about a horizontal axis alever 65 one end of which is pivotally connected to the lower end of theplunger 59 and the other end forms a floorengaging shoe 66 pressed bythe action of the compression spring 60 on the plunger against thefloor.

If the heating appliance is lifted from the floor, tilted or knockedover, the shoe 66 is free to move downwards and therefore the plunger 59upwards under the action of the compression spring 60 to trip the latchmember and cup 40 which swings rapidly downwards under the action of thetorsion spring 45 to its horizontal extinguishing position. Theprovision of the roller follower 56 makes the operation of the catchvery light.

As in the previous embodiment the rapidity with which the cup is swungdown is normally sufficient to blow out the flame. However, the cup isshaped to follow closely the contours of the flame spreader 15 and wick14 and the rim 41 is arranged to engage closely with the marginalportion 20 of the cone 16 around the burner, so that even though theflame may not be blown out completely it very soon dies out because ofthe lack of air to maintain it.

Access is gained through a removable front panel (not shown) of thecasing 39 to the crank arm 47 of the rod 43 for swinging the cup back toits initial upright position when resetting the safety device.

As the head 58 of the plunger 59 merely abuts the outer end of the latchmember there is no interference with removalof the chimney 13, forlighting the burner, for example, and if the cup has been set in itsupright position before removal of the chimney, it remains set duringremoval.

The fuel tank of the heater in this embodiment is of rectangularhorizontal cross-section so that the heater can normally be easilylocated correctly in the casing and the latch member 48 willautomatically come over the plunger head 58. However, where the fueltank is of circular cross-section for example location is not soaccurate and to provide for this the part of the safety device justdescribed for releasing the catch is modified. This is shown in FIGURE 8in which the heater has a circular fuel tank and is fitted in a casing67 of generally tri angular horizontal cross-section and tapered towardsthe top of the casing with a door 68 at the front for access to theburner. The heater is located by placing the fuel tank in a circulartray 69 on the base of the casing, and is arranged with the latch member48 rearwardly directed. A presser bar 70 in the form of a stiff metalloop is pivoted at its ends 71 about ahorizontal axis to brackets 72secured to the inside surface of the sides of the casing, near the frontof the casing, and extends in an arc of substantially 180 centred on thevertical axis of the chimney around the rear of the chimney 13. Atthemiddle of its curved portion the presser bar 70 is pivotally connectedto the upper end of a plunger 73 pivoted at its lower end to one end ofa lever 74 centrally pivoted to lugs 75 on the face of the casing, theother end of which extends through the base and forms a floor-engagingshoe. The plunger is normally urged upwards by a tension spring 76anchored to the back of the casing and to the lower end of the plunger,but is held in a lowered position, against the action of the spring 76when the shoe engages the floor. The outer end of the latch member 48rests on the presser bar and will do so at any part of the curvedportion of the presser bar. By this arrangement the latch member 48 willbe actuated by movement of the plunger 73 whether or not the latchmember is vertically aligned with the plunger. t

In the embodiment shown in FIGURES 9 and 10 the invention is applied toan upright heater having a vented, Wide cylindrical chimney 78 which isclosed at the top and hinged at its lower end, at one side, to a vented,generally cylindrical base casing 79 in which a circular fuel tank 80 isremovably supported. A burner 81 of the long drum type fed by a tubularwick 82 and having a flame spreader 83 is mounted on the fuel tank andsurrounded by a gallery 84. Rigid with and closing the lower end of thechimney 78 is an inverted substantially dish-shaped cone plate 85 ofwider diameter than the chimney and arranged to seat on and therebyclose the top of the base casing 79. The cone plate 85 is hinged at oneside by a hinge pin 86 to brackets 87 on the base casing 79. Acylindrical cone 88 rigidly secured axially to the cone plate 85 isarranged to surround the burner 81 and has an annular skirt portion 89at its lower end which co-operates with the gallery 84. The flamespreader 83 and wick are arranged to project slightly above the cone 88through a central opening 90 in top of the cone. Access is gained to thefuel tank 80 and burner 81 by swinging the chimney, together with thecone plate 85 and cone 88, away from and to one side of the base casing79, as shown in FIGURE 9. i

A safety device for extinguishing the burner flame if the heater istilted, knocked over or lifted from the floor includes in the chimney 78a flame extinguisher in the form of a sheet-metal inverted cup 91 shapedto enclose the cone 88 and projecting flame spreader and wick, withouttouching the wick, and to seat closely on the cone plate 85 around thecone 88. The cup 91 is connected, in a manner enabling some freedom ofmovement of the cup, to one end of an angled, channel section pivot arm92 which extends downwards from the cup through an opening 93 in thecone plate 85 and is pivotal at an intermediate part of its length by apivot pin 94 to lugs 95 formed out of the cone plate below the opening93. The other end of the pivot arm 92, below the cone plate, ispivotally connected to the inner end of an inverted channel-shaped latchmember 96 in the form of a straight arm which at its other outer end hasa downwardlydirected notch 97 and projects out of the cone plate througha slot 98 above the hinge connect-ion between the cone plate and basecasing 79. The latch member 96 is slidable in the slot 98. The cup 91 isnormally urged to a horizontal final position in which it is closed overthe burner and cone 88 by a tension spring 99 anchored at one end to thepivotal connection between the pivot arm 92 and latch member 96 and atthe other end to the cone plate below the slot 98. This tension spring99 is disposed in the channel of the latch member 96. i

The cup can be swung against the action of the spring 99 from thehorizontal final position to a substantially vertical, initial position,close to the chimney wall and clear of the burner and cone, by pushingthe latch mem ber 96 inwards by hand thus causing the pivot arm to swingabout the pivot pin 94. When the cup reaches the vertical position theouter end of the latch member drops down and the notch 97 engages overthe lower edge of the slot 98 so as to hold the cup in the verticalposition against the action of the tension spring 99. The notch 97 andthe lower edge of the slot 98 form a catch to hold the cup set in thevertical position.

Slidably mounted in the base casing 79 to one side of the fuel tank 80and immediately below the latch member 96 is a vertical plunger 100. Theplunger 100 extends downwards through a guide aperture 101 in aninwardly directed flange 102 of the base casing on which the fuel tankis supported. The lower end of the plunger passes through anopening 103in the bottom of the base casing and is pivoted to one end of a lever104 centrally pivoted to lugs 105 on the bottom of the base casing andforming at its other end a floor-engaging shoe 106 disposed below themiddle of the bottom of the base casing. A tension spring 107 anchoredto the plunger and base casing urges the plunger upwards and thereby theshoe 106 down- Wards, but the plunger is held in a lowered positionagainst the action of the spring 107 by engagement of the shoe with thefloor when the heater is standing normally on the floor.

In use, when the cup has been set in the initial vertical position aspreviously described, if the heater is lifted from the floor, tilted orknocked over, the plunger is free to move upwards under the action ofthe spring 107, since the shoe is no longer in contact with the floor,and lifts the outer end of the bar so that the notch 97 is raised out ofengagement with the lower edge of the slot 98. Immediately the notch 97is disengaged the latch member is free to slide outwardly through theslot and the cup is swung rapidly down with the pivot arm 92 over theburner and cone under the action of the tension spring 99. As in theprevious embodiments the rapidity with which cup is swung down isnormally sufficient to cause the burner flame to be blown out, but evenif the flame is not completely blown out it will very soon die outbecause of the lack of air to maintain it.

The chimney can be swung back on its hinge without interference by thesafety device, the latch member merely swinging with it away from theplunger. Equally, the safety device, if set, is unaffected by swingingback the chimney and remains set.

To ease the releasing of the notch 97 from the slot 98 and also slidingof the latch member in the slot a roller follower may be provided alongthe lower edge of the slot. Also instead of the tension spring 99, atorsion spring may be provided which acts on the pivot pin 94 of thepivot arm 92 to urge the cup towards the extinguishing position.

We claim:

1. In an oil-fired space heater incorporating a draught inducingchimney, a burner mounted at the base of said draught inducing chimneyand including a wick on which a flame burns almost directly, theinvention comprising a safety device for putting out the flame if theheater is knocked over, tilted or lifted from the surface on which it isstanding, said device including a flame extinguisher in the form of aninverted cup mounted inside said chimney, spring means for moving theextinguishing cup towards the burner with sufficient rapidity to blowout the flame and to bring the extinguishing cup into a final positionin which it covers the wick, a stop with which said extinguishing cup insaid final position is adapted to engage to prevent said extinguishingcup contacting said wick, latch means for holding said extinguishing cupin an initial position clear of said wick against the action of saidspring means, said latch means comprising an arm having a first end anda second end, said arm carrying at said first end said extinguishingcup, means pivotally mounting said arm for at an intermediate point inits length for angular movement about a horizontal axis relative to saidchimney, said spring means co-operating with said arm and adapted tomove it into a position to move said extinguishing cup towards saidfinal position, a latch member, and a pivotal connection between saidlatch member and said second end of said arm, said latch member at aposition remote from said pivotal connection having a notch adapted toengage with a fixed part adjacent to an opening in said chimney whensaid extinguishing cup is in said initial position to hold said cup inthat position against the action of said spring means, pre-loaded meansfor releasing said latch member to disengage said notch from said fixedpart when the equilibrium of the heater is disturbed, and meansrestraining said pre-loaded means from releasing said latch means, whilethe heater is standing normally, said restraining means including a shoeengaging with the surface on which the heater is standing.

2. In an oil-fired space heater incorporating a draught inducingchimney, a burner mounted at the base of said draught inducing chimneyand including a wick on which a flame burns almost directly, theinvention comprising a safety device for putting out the flame if theheater is knocked over, tilted or lifted from the surface on which it isstanding, said device including a pivotal member mounted in said chimneyfor angular movement about a horizontal axis and comprising a rod havingan end shaped to form a pin parallel to said horizontal axis, a flameextinguisher in the form of an inverted cup carried by said pivotalmember, spring means for moving said pivotal member about saidhorizontal axis to move the extinguishing cup towards the burner withsuflicient rapidity to blow out the flame and to bring the extinguishingcup into a final position in which it covers the wick, a stop with whichsaid extinguishing cup in said final position is adapted to engage toprevent said extinguishing cup contacting said wick, a spring loadedlatch member pivotal to said chimney and formed with a detent with whichsaid rod is adapted to engage to hold said extinguishing cup in aninitial position clear of said wick against the action of said springmeans, pre-loaded means to withdraw said detent from said pin to allowsaid extinguishing cup to move to said final position, and meansrestraining said pre-loaded means from releasing said latch member,while the heater is standing normally, said restraining means includinga shoe engaging with the surface on which the heater is standing.

3. In an oil-fired space heater incorporating a draught inducingchimney, a burner mounted at the base of said draught inducing chimneyand including a wick on which a flame burns almost directly, theinvention comprising a safety device for putting out the flame if theheater is knocked over, tilted, or lifted from the surface on which itis standing, said device including, an arm pivoted about a horizontalaxis in the chmney to one side of said burner, a flame extinguisher inthe form of an inverted cup carried by said arm, spring means for movingsaid arm about said horizontal axis to move the extinguishing cuptowards the burner with suflicient rapidity to blow out the flame and tobring the extinguishing cup into a final position in which it covers thewick, a stop with Which said extinguishing cup in said final position isadapted to engage to prevent said extinguishing cup contacting saidwick, a latch member pivoted about a horizontal axis to said chimney forholding said extinguishing cup in an initial position clear of said wickagainst the action of said spring means, said latch member having innerand outer ends on opposite sides of said horizontal axis, a springloading said latch member and adapted to urge the inner end of saidlatch member upwardly, said inner end of said latch member provided withan upwardly directed detent, a member on said arm adapted to engage saiddetent when said extinguishing cup is in said initial position to holdsaid extinguishing cup in that position, pre-loaded means for movingsaid detent out of engagement with said member to allow saidextinguishing cup to move to said final position, and means restrainingsaid preloaded means from releasing said latch member, while the heateris standing normally, said restraining means including a shoe engagingwith the surface on which the heater is standing.

4. In an oil-fired space heater incorporating a draught inducingchimney, a burner mounted at the base of said draught inducing chimneyand including a wick on which a flame burns almost directly, theinvention comprising a safety device for putting out the flame if theheater is knocked over, tilted or lifted from the surface on which it isstanding, said device including, an arm pivoted about a horizontal axisin the chimney to one side of said burner, a flame extinguisher in theform of an inverted cup carried by said arm spring means for moving saidarm about said horizontal axis to move the extinguishing cup towards theburner with sufficient rapidity to blow out the flame and to bring theextinguishing cup into a final position in which it covers the wick, astop with which said extinguishing cup in said final position is adaptedto engage to prevent said extinguishing cup contacting said wick, a

spring loaded latch member pivoted about a horizontal axis to saidchimney for holding said extinguishing cup in an initial position clearof said wick against the action of said spring means, said latch memberhaving inner and outer ends on opposite sides of said horizontal axis,said inner end being adapted to co-operate with said arm when saidextinguishing cup is in said initial position to hold said extinguishingcup in that position, pre-loaded means for releasing said latch memberincluding a presser bar in the form of a loop extending in an are aroundsaid chimney, and means pivotally mounting said loop to a casing of theheater for movement about a horizontal axis, said presser bar beingadapted to be engaged by 5 which the heater is standing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 210,336 11/1878 Koontz 6778 103,169,519 2/1965 Aizawa et al 126-96 3,237,678 3/1966 Suma et al. 67-78X FREDERICK KETTERER, Primary Examiner.

1. IN AN OIL-FIRED SPACE HEATER INCORPORATING A DRAUGHT INDUCINGCHIMNEY, A BURNER MOUNTED AT THE BASE OF SAID DRAUGHT INDUCING CHIMNEYAND INCLUDING A WICK ON WHICH A FLAME BURNS ALMOST DIRECTLY, THEINVENTION COMPRISING A SAFETY DEVICE FOR PUTTING OUT THE FLAME IF THEHEATER IS KNOCKED OVER, TILTED OR LIFTED FROM THE SURFACE ON WHICH IT ISSTANDING, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING A FLAME EXTINGUISHER IN THE FORM OF ANINVERTED CUP MOUNTED INSIDE SAID CHIMNEY, SPRING MEANS FOR MOVING THEEXTINGUISHING CUP TOWARDS THE BURNER WITH SUFFICIENT RAPIDITY TO BLOWOUT THE FLAME AND TO BRING THE EXTINGUISHING CUP INTO A FINAL POSITIONIN WHICH IT COVERS THE WICK, A STOP WITH WHICH SAID EXTINGUISHING CUP INSAID FINAL POSITION IS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE TO PREVENT SAID EXTINGUISHINGCUP CONTACTING SAID WICK, LATCH MEANS FOR HOLDING SAID EXTINGUISHING CUPIN AN INITIAL POSITION CLEAR OF SAID WICK AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAIDSPRING MEANS, SAID LATCH MEANS COMPRISING AN ARM HAVING A FIRST END ANDA SECOND END, SAID ARM CARRYING AT SAID FIRST END SAID EXTINGUISHINGCUP, MEANS PIVOTALLY MOUNTING SAID ARM FOR AT AN INTERMEDIATE POINT INITS LENGTH FOR ANGULAR MOVEMENT ABOUT A HORIZONTAL AXIS RELATIVE TO SAIDCHIMNEY, SAID SPRING MEANS CO-OPERATING WITH SAID ARM AND ADAPTED TOMOVE IT INTO A POSITION TO MOVE SAID EXTINGUISHING CUP TOWARDS SAIDFINAL POSITION, A LATCH MEMBER, AND A PIVOTAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAIDLATCH MEMBER AND SAID SECOND END OF ARM, SAID LATCH MEMBER AT A POSITIONREMOTE FROM SAID PIVOTAL CONNECTION HAVING A NOTCH ADAPTED TO ENGAGEWITH A FIXED PART ADJACENT TO AN OPENING IN SAID CHIMNEY WHEN SAIDEXTINGUISHING CUP IS IN SAID INITIAL POSITION TO HOLD SAID CUP IN THATPOSITION AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID SPRING MEANS, PRE-LOADED MEANS FORRELEASING SAID LATCH MEMBER TO DISENGAGE SAID NOTCH FROM SAID FIXED PARTWHEN THE EQUILIBRIUM OF THE HEATER IS DISTURBED, AND MEANS RESTRAININGSAID PRE-LOADED MEANS FROM RELEASING SAID LATCH MEANS, WHILE THE HEATERIS STANDING NORMALLY, SAID RESTRAINING MEANS INCLUDING A SHOE ENGAGINGWITH THE SURFACE ON WHICH THE HEATER IS STANDING.